I was one of the many people that tuned in to see “Millennium” when it premiered on FOX television back in 1996. When I was thirteen any horror show would catch my eye, but I eventually tuned out after a few episodes. Years late “Millennium” is a widely celebrated cult classic television series that never caught on as much as its sibling predecessor “X-Files.” While the former embraced science fiction and horror, “Millennium” delved mostly in to the occult and horror, and never quite sought out to inspire hope within its viewers.
After its cancellation in 1999, “Millennium” remained a much lauded and discussed series without much closure and without an official book end to the narrative. To this day fans have speculated as to what would have become of the series if it ever became a huge hit, and in “Millennium After the Millennium” we get a very close facsimile to closure. Director Jason D. Morris and writer Joseph Maddrey (Nightmares in Red White and Blue, To Hell You Ride) are hardcore fans of the series, and spend ninety minutes exploring the ins and outs of “Millennium” conversing with every available cast member, including star Lance Henriksen.
What’s so interesting about “Millennium After the Millennium” is that Lance Henriksen actually believed in the series, and when it went to air, he invested a lot of energy in to giving the best series possible. At a time where the world feared the new century and ideas like Y2K, “Millennium” was a show that was just of its time. Sadly it was straddled with a network that just didn’t get it, and often times didn’t want to get it. During the period when “Millennium” came on television, Christ Carter’s “X-Files” literally dominated Fox Television, and fans were very on board for another series involving the occult and supernatural. When Carter’s follow up finally came to air, it was dark, often times to its detriment, as inevitably FOX began interfering and complaining that the show delved in to the Gothic and bleak overtones often too much.
Jason D. Morris and co. comb over every detail of “Millennium” from its development, the casting, the way Lance Henriksen prepared for the series, and how much he and the producers fought to keep it on. The thorough content often allows for a fascinating retrospective, but it act to the detriment of “Millennium After the Millenium.” The documentary is very niche, almost too niche. If you’re not a hardcore fan of the series, you probably will find yourself tuning out some of the content. Director Jason D. Morris goes through every facet of the production, even discussing every episode of the series’ run with brief commentary. That said, if you’re a fan of “Millennium” and occult television that never got its due, “Millennium After the Millennium” is a comprehensive and very good fan documentary.